News Briefs: Upgraded Indian Trail unveiled, Winnetka taco spot opens, NSCD junior engineers advance

The North Shore District 112 community celebrated the reopening of Indian Trail Elementary School on Dec. 6.

Indian Trail’s improvements are the first completed using proceeds from a referendum passed in 2022.

“This beautiful building with its state-of-the-art facilities and welcoming spaces represents a significant investment in the future of our children and our community,” Superintendent Mike Lubelfeld said. “Through your support of the Phase 2 referendum, we’ve come together to shape the learning environments our children deserve.”

The renovations include: upgraded classrooms to promote collaboration; open common areas, including a new library; flexible learning spaces; improved HVAC systems; and new accessibility features “to ensure all members of the school community can fully engage with the space,” according to a District 112 press release.

“This event marks the culmination of hard work, vision, and collaboration by so many dedicated individuals,” Indian Trail Principal Tony Candela said during the ribbon cutting Dec. 6. “What makes this renovation project so meaningful is that it’s much more than a building. It’s a school. It’s a beacon of opportunity, growth, and discovery for the people who are inside and matter most, the students.”

Next in line in District 112’s Phase 2 projects are: Ravinia, Sherwood, Braeside and Wayne Thomas elementary schools.

Fondita Miguel opens in Winnetka

There’s a new taqueria in town.

Fondita Miguel, the latest project from chef Michael Lachowicz’s team, opened on Friday, Dec. 13, at 544 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka.

Fondita Miguel serves tacos, tortas, burritos and more traditional Mexican fare, as well as grab-and-go meals ready to bring home and prepare for the family. Customers order at the counter and can take their meals to go or grab a seat at one of few tables inside or out front.

Lachowicz is also the proprietor behind Aboyer Brasserie, 64 Green Bay Road in Winnetka, a building that was recently purchased by Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate. Hoffmann also owns the building where Fondita Miguel has set up shop. The corner storefront on Lincoln Avenue is the former home of Lincoln Avenue Bakery and, before that, Bake Homemade pizza.

NSCD Lego club qualify for the sectional

North Shore Country Day’s First Lego League team, the Deep Sea Raiders, qualified for the sectional round with their performance on Dec. 7 at Francis W. Parker School.

The Raiders earned the Core Values Award, which celebrates teams that display enthusiasm, teamwork, innovation, sportsmanship and respect for both their teammates and competitors. During the competition, according to a release from NSCD, teams are judged in three categories: robot performance through a series of missions, an innovation project, and robot engineering, design and coding. These three scores combined determine which teams advance to the sectional competition in January.

First Lego League introduces students to science, technology engineering and math through hands-on, engaging projects and friendly competition.

“Half of this year’s team is new and very young for FLL, but it is wonderful to see the older students mentoring the younger ones,” said Julie Toten, lower school technology teacher and FLL coach, who also noted that five of the team members are in fourth grade. “This is all new to them, and they rose to the challenge.”

The 2024 theme, “Submerged,” challenged teams to research a problem faced by ocean explorers and develop innovative solutions to address the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems and ocean health. The Deep Sea Raiders focused on endangered coral reefs for their innovation project, designing a water drone with sensors and an AI camera that students trained to identify healthy versus unhealthy coral.

In addition to their innovation project, the Deep Sea Raiders designed, built and coded a Lego robot to complete a series of ocean-themed missions

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